A descriptive essay uses detailed language and sensory details to create a rich, vivid portrait of its subject. Rather than merely stating facts or listing attributes, it seeks to paint a memorable picture in the reader’s mind through creative, original descriptions.
Descriptive essay prompts can cover tangible items like a person, place, object, or memory. They may require depicting abstract concepts, emotions, or imaginative scenarios.
The key is to tap into the five senses – sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste – and employ colorful words and figurative language to immerse the reader.
Descriptive essay topics
When tasked with a descriptive essay, you’ll typically receive a prompt that specifies what you should describe. These prompts generally fall into three categories:
Personal descriptive essay prompts
You may be asked to vividly depict a person, place, object, or experience from your own life.
- Describe your favorite outdoor place and what makes it so special.
- Describe a person you admire deeply and the qualities that make them admirable.
Imaginative descriptive essay prompts
These prompts require you to paint a vivid picture purely from your imagination of something you’ve never directly experienced.
- Vividly describe a single day in the life of a magical creature like a unicorn or dragon.
- Provide a detailed depiction of exploring the ocean’s depths and its creatures.
Conceptual descriptive essay prompt
You may need to describe an abstract concept or idea using suggestive details and figurative language rather than a concrete person, place, or thing.
- Describe the abstract concept of courage using figurative language.
- Use sensory details to illustrate what the feeling of nostalgia is like.
Tips for writing descriptively
To craft a vivid, engaging descriptive essay, go beyond simply stating your subject’s attributes. The goal is to immerse the reader through the imaginative use of creative writing techniques that make your descriptions come alive on the page.
Here are some tips for writing descriptively in your essays:
Use figurative language
Figurative language like metaphors, similes, analogies, and personification allows you to paint vivid pictures in the reader’s mind. Comparing one thing to another unrelated object or concept in an unexpected way can make abstract ideas more concrete and tangible.
Example
- “The dancer moved like a graceful swan on the stage.” This comparison shows that the dancer’s movements were smooth and beautiful.
- “The tall building stood like a guard watching over the city below.” Calling the building a “guard” gives it the image of protecting and watching out.
Use your senses
Go beyond just describing how something looks and appealing to the sense of sight. Incorporate details regarding the other four senses – sound, smell, taste, and touch. Bringing multiple senses into your descriptions deeply immerses the reader.
Example
- “The fall air smelled like a bonfire and had crunchy, orange leaves on the ground.” Describing the smells of smoke and the feeling of crunchy leaves, along with the sight of orange, allows you to imagine the full experience.
- “The thunder sounded like an angry monster rumbling in the sky while lightning flashes danced across it.” Mentioning the rumbling sound and flashing lights engages your senses of sight and sound.
Choose the right words
Take care to use very specific and precise word choices, especially for nouns, verbs, and adjectives/adverbs. Bland words tell while evocative words show. Look for opportunities to swap general words for something more vivid.
Example
- “Instead of just walking, he strolled slowly along the path, enjoying each relaxed step.”Saying “strolled” and “enjoying” instead of just “walked” paints a more relaxing picture.
- “The broken-down old shack was slanting over, its aged wooden boards couldn’t take the harsh desert winds anymore.” Descriptive words like “broken-down,” “slanting,” “aged,” and “harsh” give you a clear visual impression.
Descriptive essay example
The example below is a concise, descriptive essay vividly depicting a beloved place using figurative language, sensory details, and evocative word choices in response to the prompt, “Describe a person you admire deeply and the qualities that make them admirable.”